Klay Thompson's Corner 3 With One Second Left in OT Lifts Heat Past Clippers 117-116 After 20-Point Comeback

Klay Thompson hit a 3-pointer from the left corner with one second left in overtime, and the Miami Heat completed a comeback from 20 points down to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 117-116 on Wednesday night at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. Thompson finished with 30 points on 8-of-17 shooting from beyond the arc, and Bam Adebayo posted season highs of 35 points and 10 rebounds as Miami improved to 3-5.

The win was the Heat's third in four games after an 0-4 start, and it came two nights after a 138-117 loss to the Lakers across town. The Clippers fell to 1-7 and have lost seven straight since winning their season opener against Sacramento on Oct. 21, according to the Associated Press.

The winning play

Los Angeles led 116-114 when Max Strus missed a driving layup with 3.8 seconds left in overtime. Giannis Antetokounmpo grabbed the defensive rebound, Strus was whistled for a foul with 3.3 seconds left, and Heat coach Erik Spoelstra called timeout to set up an inbounds play from the sideline.

Adebayo set a baseline screen that freed Thompson in the left corner, and Antetokounmpo got the ball to him quickly, according to ESPN's Ben Golliver. Thompson turned and shot before Kobe Sanders could close out, and the 23-footer dropped with one second on the clock. Sanders missed a desperation heave at the buzzer.

"I felt like I had so much space," Thompson told ESPN. "I've taken so many thousands of corner 3s, especially in that left corner. It's probably the easiest shot on the perimeter for a righty like myself."

Antetokounmpo credited the screen. "Great screen by Bam and great shot by Klay," he said, according to ESPN. "Whenever he shoots the ball, you feel like it's going in."

How Miami climbed out of a 20-point hole

Miami led 33-24 after the first quarter before the game turned sharply. The Clippers scored the first 10 points of the second quarter as part of a 26-2 surge, took a 63-43 lead on a Darius Garland 3-pointer with 3:12 left in the half and went to the break up 67-52 after outscoring the Heat 43-19 in the period, according to the AP.

The Heat chipped away in the second half, winning the third quarter 26-20, but still trailed 101-91 after a Rui Hachimura three-point play with 5:04 left in regulation. Miami then ran off nine straight points over the next 1:50. Adebayo scored inside and made two free throws, Pelle Larsson scored on a feed from Antetokounmpo, and Davion Mitchell finished a running layup to pull the Heat within 101-99 with 3:32 to go, according to ESPN's play-by-play.

Adebayo's 12-foot pull-up gave Miami a 105-104 lead with 1:53 left, but Garland answered with a layup. Antetokounmpo then grabbed three straight offensive rebounds in the final 15 seconds before drawing a foul and making both free throws for a 107-106 lead with 10.8 seconds left.

The final seconds of regulation produced the night's most contested sequence. Miami won a coach's challenge of a foul called on Larsson, but officials ruled that Adebayo had committed a defensive foul during the same scramble, and Hachimura went to the line with 2.7 seconds left, according to ESPN. He missed the first free throw and made the second to tie the game at 107, and Adebayo's fadeaway at the horn missed.

Overtime

Garland, who led the Clippers with 26 points and seven assists, scored all nine of their points in the extra period. His 3-pointer put Los Angeles up 112-109, and after Thompson answered with a 23-footer to tie it, Garland hit a pull-up jumper with 1:58 left and a floater for a 116-112 lead with 1:19 remaining.

Adebayo cut the margin to two with a fadeaway at 1:04, and the Clippers did not score again. Strus missed a fadeaway, Mitchell missed a 3-pointer on the other end, and Strus's missed layup in the final seconds set up the last play. Antetokounmpo also blocked a Hachimura layup earlier in overtime.

"You can fight Father Time, and [Thompson] is doing it," Spoelstra said, according to ESPN. "He's putting in a ton of time on his body, getting in shape, and that's allowing him to show the skill set he's had in his Hall of Fame career."

The Heat's key numbers

Miami's three top scorers carried the night, with Mitchell running the offense with 10 assists. The leading Heat lines, from ESPN's box score:

The rest of the roster struggled from long range. The Heat went 10 of 40 from deep as a team, so everyone other than Thompson made two of 23. Miami made up for it inside, outscoring the Clippers 54-40 in the paint and 23-13 in points off turnovers. The Heat forced 20 Los Angeles turnovers and committed 12.

According to ESPN, it was Thompson's first eight-3 game since December 2023, when he was still with Golden State. The 36-year-old, a four-time NBA champion who ranks fourth in league history in 3-pointers, signed with Miami in free agency this summer after a buyout with the Dallas Mavericks. Spoelstra said the team is still fitting the pieces together after the July trade that brought Antetokounmpo to Miami, and he praised the team's grit in the second half.

"The guys earned their ice," Spoelstra said, according to ESPN. "It's good to finally get some karma on our side."

The Clippers' side

Hachimura added 21 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for Los Angeles, and Brook Lopez had 20 points and eight rebounds, including three baskets in a 92-second stretch midway through the fourth quarter that pushed the lead back to 96-88. Rookie Keaton Wagler scored 11 points off the bench.

The Clippers remain without Brandon Ingram (Achilles) and Bradley Beal (knee), neither of whom has played this season, according to the AP. ESPN's injury report also listed Yanic Konan Niederhauser and Jordan Miller as out.

What's next

The Heat finish a back-to-back Thursday night at Golden State, Thompson's longtime home, with a 10 p.m. Eastern tip on NBA TV, according to ESPN's schedule. The road trip continues at Sacramento on Sunday and Utah on Tuesday before Miami returns to Kaseya Center to host Cleveland on Friday, Nov. 13. The Clippers host New Orleans on Sunday, and the teams meet again Dec. 18 in Miami.